Experience the magic of homemade bread in just one hour with this game-changing French Bread recipe. It is so easy that it always comes out perfect, even if it is your first time making yeast bread.
It makes two large loaves for about $2.87. Each loaf serves eight people each and will cost around 18¢ per serving!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Love About This French Bread Recipe
- Versatility: This is a great recipe because the bread can be enjoyed plain, used to make Garlic Bread, served as a side dish to most entrees, dipped in olive oil, made into sandwiches, or toasted for French toast.
- Quick Rise Times: Both rises only take 15 minutes, making this a relatively fast recipe for homemade fresh bread. This will quickly become your go-to bread recipe. Your family and friends will ask you to make this chewy French bread again and again.
- Simple Ingredients: The recipe uses basic pantry staples, making it accessible for most home bakers. You may find that you have most of these basic ingredients on hand.
- Easy To Work With: Forming the dough into two long loaves is simple and doesn’t require intricate techniques or a bread machine.
1-Hour French Bread Ingredients & Estimated Cost:
- 2 cups warm water – $0.00
- 2 Tablespoons instant yeast – $0.96
- 2 Tablespoons sugar – $0.06
- 2 teaspoons salt – $0.02
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil – $0.09
- 5 ½ – 6 cups flour – $1.62
- 1 egg white – $0.12
The cost of the recipe is calculated based on the amounts needed. To learn more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained. The pricing for this recipe was updated in February 2024.
How To Make 1 Hour Bread
***For complete recipe instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Whisk warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Let it froth for 5-10 minutes before mixing it in the salt, oil, and flour.
- Knead in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and the bread dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Cover and rise for 15 minutes in a warm place.
- The dough will be puffy but not quite doubled in size.
- Divide dough into two loaves on a baking sheet, cut diagonal slits across the top of the dough, and let the dough rise again before baking for 30 minutes.
- Brush with egg wash mixture to get an extra crispy crust, and bake for five more minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Easy French Bread Recipe Variations:
Use this bread as the base for these recipes:
- BBQ Chicken Braid
- French bread pizza
- French-Bread Stuffing
- French Toast
- Garlic bread
- Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joes
How Long Does French Bread Last:
- Serve: Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic or placed in a Ziploc bag and kept at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- Store: Wrap the bread in plastic wrap and store it for up to 5 days. (I like slicing the bread for pizza or garlic bread when it’s cold and slightly stiff. It’s easier to cut this way.)
- Freeze: Wrap the bread in plastic wrap and then in foil before putting it in the freezer. It will keep for up to three months before getting freezer burn.
Quick French Bread Recipe FAQs
Why is it called French bread?
French bread, a long, crusty loaf known in France as a baguette, which means “a stick, ” is the top choice in French bakeries.
NOTE:
- This recipe is an Americanized version of French bread. You know, the big, squishy French Bread loaves you find at the grocery store. This bread is nothing like a crusty baguette.
How do you make French bread crusty again?
You can try to put water on the loaf of bread and then wrap it in foil before putting it in a cold oven. Next, heat the oven to 300 degrees and heat the bread for 10-12 minutes. Then, unwrap the bread and cook it for 4-5 minutes. That’s it! You should now be able to enjoy that fantastic crusty bread once again!
Can I skip the egg wash?
Yes, you can skip this step. The egg wash helps the crust get a little extra crispy, but it is still delicious without this step.
Can you freeze French bread?
Yes! This is one of our favorite things about this recipe. The bread will stay fresh in the freezer for up to three months.
How to reheat French Bread?
When ready to use, remove it from the freezer and set it on the counter to defrost. Then, when ready, warm it in 30-second intervals in the microwave.
Get Kids Involved With Making One Hour French Bread
Ages 2-3: Let your tiny sous-chef add the ingredients and mix them in the stand mixer for some messy, doughy fun! They’ll love watching the ingredients form into a soft dough ball.
Ages 4-5: Time to unleash their inner scientist! They can help measure the water and yeast (with grown-up supervision) and add the dry ingredients to the mixer.
Ages 6-8: Level up their skills! They can help measure, combine, and knead all the ingredients. Let them set the timer for the dough to rise (a great exercise in patience!) and, with proper knife safety guidance, teach them to score the dough before the second rise.
Ages 9-11: Prepare to be impressed! With your gentle guidance, they can follow a recipe from start to finish. Encourage them to read the recipe twice beforehand for a sense of accomplishment.
Ages 12+: Step back and watch your little chef work their magic! Let them handle the entire recipe, from gathering ingredients to baking delicious golden loaves. You can do the happy dance in the corner knowing you’ve raised a master baker!
Remember, baking is about creating memories together, so have fun, make a mess, and enjoy the delicious reward!
Homemade French Bread Budget Tips
This French Bread freezes well, so we love freezing one of the loaves to always have one on hand. We also love using the leftover bread to make other recipes, such as croutons, breadcrumbs, French toast, etc. Making homemade bread rather than buying it at the grocery store trims some of the grocery budget.
More From Easy Budget Recipes
1-Hour French Bread Recipe
Recipe Cost 2.87 Serving Cost 0.18Equipment
- stand mixer
- standard-size baking sheet
- parchment paper or silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water 90-100 degrees
- 2 Tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 5 ½ – 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg white mixed with 1 Tablespoon water optional
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- First, add the water, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Whisk the mixture together and let it sit for 3 minutes, or until it’s bubbly and frothy.
- Next, add in the oil, salt, and 5 ½ cups of flour.
- Attach a dough hook and mix on low until the dough comes together.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and knead. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t, add more flour, 2 Tablespoons at a time, until it does.
- Then, knead the dough for 2 minutes on medium-high.
- Remove the dough hook and cover the work bowl with a warm damp towel. Let the dough rise for 15 minutes.
- Remove the towel and punch the dough down.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape each piece into a long, thick dough that measures 16-17 inches long.
- Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, and cut 5-6 slits diagonally on each loaf.
- Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 375 degrees.
- Let the dough rise for a second time while the oven preheats.
- As soon as the oven is done preheating, pop the pan into the oven (don’t let the dough sit out too long because it will over-proof). Bake for 23-25 minutes.
- Then, remove the bread from the oven and brush the loaves with 1 egg white mixed with 1 Tablespoon of water.
- Bake for another 3-5 minutes.
- Move the pan to a wire rack and cool the bread for 5 minutes before slicing and serving!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We recently updated the pictures to this post. Here are the originals from September 2019.
Nancie Jankowski says
I made this and it came out great. Can’t wait till we can have company in. I’m planning on making Christmas roast, french bread, Jennas naughty potatoes. Yeah. Now for our govenor to lift restrictions.
Jess Jankowski says
We’re so happy you love our recipes!
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen says
I haven’t tried making my own french bread. Thanks for the recipe.
Jess Jankowski says
I’m so excited for you try it!
Emily says
I am definitely going to try this recipe. I love fresh bread.
Jess Jankowski says
Please do and let us know how you like it!
Amanda Martin says
Oh yum! Nothing better than homemade bread right outta the oven!!
Jess Jankowski says
Right?!?
Marisa Cuevas says
This looks really good, recently I have failed at making bread but I’ll give this a try!
Jess Jankowski says
Marisa, it is super easy! It is a great one to try!
Nicole says
Ohh I am for sure going to make this next week! I can’t wait to try it!
Jess Jankowski says
So excited for you to try it Nicole!
Becky Trowbridge says
I love this bread recipe! It is my favorite!!! So easy!!! Thanks so much for this!!!
Jess Jankowski says
Becky, so glad you love it as much as we do!
Jan says
The rise is super fast! I gave the second loaf to my neighbor as we don’t eat that much bread. She is elderly and lives alone and really appreciated it.
Jess Jankowski says
Jan, that is so sweet of you! What a perfect use for the bread. Thank you so much for sharing!
Jenny says
Made this yesterday and it was so amazing! My kids ate a whole loaf in minutes! Yummy!
Jess Jankowski says
I love it fresh out of the oven…hard to resist! Glad you all loved it too!
Elyse says
I made this bread it was quick and easy. My almost two and four year old helped make this! I loved that suggestion! We would never eat two loaves of bread so I used the second loaf for French toast the next morning and it was perfect!
Jess Jankowski says
Elyse, we love everything about this! Thank you so much for your feedback! Using the second loaf for French Toast is one of my favorite things to do!
Lisa says
I would like to make this into 3 smaller loaves. What would be the appropriate baking time? I would also like the crust crunchy. Should I put a pan of water in the oven with the loaves as well as use the egg wash?
Jess Jankowski says
Hi Lisa. We haven’t actually made this into 3 loaves before but our gut tells us you would want to bake it for a little less time. So I would set it for less time and then watch it closely. There is no need to put a pan of water in the oven. Doing the egg wash is what makes the crust crunchy. Enjoy!
Gia Tano says
I only used just about 1 tablespoon of yeast as I ran out! Let me tell you!!!! The least amount yeast tastes so MUCH BETTER!!!! You don’t get that beer smell ! You get the true home made bread for sure without the yeasty smell as well ! This will be my go to Bread from now on since I am ITALIAN and this was perfect for our ITALIAN DISHES Tonight even though it’s a French Bread lol
Jess Jankowski says
Gia, that is amazing to hear that it worked out perfectly for you with less yeast! Yay!
Mihaela says
Just now came out of the oven 2 beautiful golden breads. One of the best, easiest and fastest bread recipes. I can’t wait for the gang to come home to surprise them and taste it. Thank you for a wonderful bread recipe.
Jess Jankowski says
They are in for a great surprise! So happy you love the recipe as much as we do!
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
I have been baking a lot of bread lately, but have never attempted a French-style loaf. I’ll definitely be giving this a try, especially since it takes so much less time than even the standard no-knead recipes!
Jess Jankowski says
It is the perfect time to be baking bread! We think you will love this one!
Elsa says
Just made the bread. I’m usually intimidated with yeast but this recipe was so easy. Perfect for our spaghetti dinner tonight. My very first French bread. It was fantastic!
Thank you for sharing
Jess Jankowski says
Elsa, SO happy you love the bread as much as we do! It is the perfect companion to spaghetti.
Vonelle says
Thank you so much for your quick reply. We loved the bread. I’ll try your suggestions. I’ll also look for the video.
Thank you again for such a great recipe!
Vonelle
Jess Jankowski says
You are so welcome!
Vonelle says
We made this last night and it was wonderful! When I turned it out to shape the loaves it was quite sticky. I had a hard time shaping it until I added flour. In fact, I had to shape them on the parchment on which I was baking them as they would not hold their shape to move them from my prep area to the prepared pan. I may have missed those instructions in the recipe. Do you recommend flour or oil to shape the dough?
Jess Jankowski says
Hi Vonelle. I am sorry it was sticky. How much flour did you add in when you were kneading it? It sounds like you may need to add more flour so it is not sticky. Then when you take it out to shape it add a little flour if needed. See our video for a visual on this. This should do the trick.
Ashley says
Can you tell me how many yeast packets I would use. I think I messed that measurement up.
Jess Jankowski says
Hi Ashley. The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of yeast. A yeast packet has 2 1/4 teaspoons. So you would need just under 3 whole packets to get the needed 2 Tablespoons. Hope that helps!
Terra says
Made this recipe EXACTLY as it is instructed and omg it was fantastic!!!!! Seriously couldn’t have turned out any better! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jess Jankowski says
You just made our day! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Joann says
Can this be made with regular yeast ? I do not have fast rise yeast on hand but plenty of regular. Sounds good cant wait ti make
Jess Jankowski says
Hi Joann, it can be made with regular yeast but it will not rise as quickly. It will take at least an hour for the first rise and 45 min to an hour for the second rise. Good luck and let us know how it goes!